Fantasist's Scroll

Not “laws of magic” but laws governing magic.
I’m reading a book called Industrial Magic at the moment and the author has some interesting ideas that she tosses around. What interested me the most, however, was a secret justice system for magic. Well, more specifically, for people who use magic or “are magic”. And that really makes sense. After all, would a “normal” court, who has no real concept of how magic works or what is magically possible, be able to effectively render judgements that involve magical crimes? I don’t think so.
So, if you have magic in your created world, whatever its purpose, have you thought about this issue? How do courts deal with curses? Or the withholding of a blessing? Or “unfair competition” that was aided by magic? How about murder that involves magic? These are important issues. And, of course, all potentially important plot devices. Do lawyers have to go through a special school before they can work in courts that involve magic? Does every court use magic to determine the facts of even mundane cases? A little truth spell goes a long way! Are spells a closely guarded asset that one can sue someone for stealing, like intellectual property is today?
So many issues to think about. And every issue can be a potential story. Dealing with any of these problems, or any others in this vein that you might think of, can produce any number of good stories. Just remember what Lawrence Watt-Evans said about magic, “If a story can be written without a fantasy element, then don’t bother with the fantasy element.” It’s a good rule.

So, now I’ve given you some ideas, go! Write!

This is funny to me.
The daughter of a favorite author of mine has written an entry in her blog about writing a “literary” novel that’s good enough to sell. Sadly, I’m afraid that she may well be right!
According to the entry in her father’s blog, this was inspired by the fact that she was forced to read a “literary” novel that didn’t agree with her mental digestion. And, interestingly enough, the author himself got started in response to the statistic often quoted about authors getting a “mere” $2000 for their first novel. Apparently, his thought was “For two grand, I could do something that bad. In fact, I think I could so something a little better.” And, I can think of worse ways to get inspired. After all, $2000 not bad, frankly, for a kid in high school with literary aspiration and some free time.
Hmm, maybe I could do better, if I follow her formula and put out a little effort…

Well, maybe tomorrow. Today, though, I revel in the fact that it’s Friday. Enjoy the link!

I saw a strange story…
Okay, a really, really strange story, on BoingBoing, about a woman breast feeding two tiger cubs in South East Asia. Obviously, after trying to picture this scene in my head, what I pictured was a kind of Asian Romulus and Remus story.
If you’re not familiar with these two fine lads, according to legend, they were twins who were raised by a wolf bitch and went on to found Rome. Imagine the same thing, but with a tiger in Asia somewhere. I can see a small, island country, not unlike Singapore, that has this as their “creation” myth. It’s similar to Romulus and Remus to resonate with Western readers, but different enough to be interesting and exotic. And, possibly, not immediately recognizable, either.
Dang! I keep giving you guys these ideas and what I need to do is develop one of them myself! Ah, well, maybe the next one.

No, actual menus!
Have you thought that much about the details of any fantasy world that you’ve created? Sure, you have a language and a history and even a legal system for your freshly minted culture, but what do they eat for lunch? Well, if you haven’t thought about this, it’s not a bad idea to flesh it out. Luckily, you don’t have to go it alone. Over at the Zompist Web BBS, Dewrad has a thread started for just this topic called, Concuisine. Also, if you’re not familiar with this place, it’s a great source of information about any number of topics. And, there’s always someone willing to chat with you about ideas, even if they’re half-baked.
Go check it out!

How to Be a Villain: Evil Laughs, Secret Lairs, Master Plans, and More!!!
Yes, this is a real book. No, it is not serious. However, if you’re designing a villain, it’s not a bad place to start. No, seriously! Here in one book are the collected cliches of bad guys. Everything from talking when you should be shooting to the “Rube Goldberg” killing machine. You name the tragic mistake that any and all James Bond villains have made and it’s in this book somewhere. So, in a humorous way, it’s a guidebook for what NOT to do when creating your literary villain. In fact, part of the book is a warning to up-and-coming super villains on what to watch out for in heroes and the big mistakes that the “average” villain makes that costs them their victory.

There are many ways to test one’s constructed language.
There’s the infamous Babel Text, as suggested by Jeffery Henning. There are other religious texts that might be used, like the Lord’s Prayer or the Sermon on the Mount. There’s translating a “folk tale”. I’ve even seen the suggestion put forward to translate dinner menus, street signs, and adverstisments. I, myself, have suggested that, perhaps, creating a phrasebook might be the thing. All of these methods should highlight any flaw or under-developed section of your conlang. When translating, we find holes and errors and things we simply haven’t thought through yet. But, another “test” occurred to me yesterday…
I was talking to my dog in German, telling her “Du bist ein gutes Hund! Du bist ein hübsch Hund!” and watched her get all happy and wiggly. Then, it hit me. “Can you talk to your dog in your conlang?” Of course, it works for any pet, but you get the idea. So, from now on, if I work on a constructed language, I must be able to talk to my dog in it, or it’s just not good enough.
Harumph!

This is cute!
While looking for water gardening resources, or an old t-shirt that I can only half remember, or something, I found a fifth grade class’ creative writing assignment called The Island Project. The project was for the kids to imagine themselves stranded on an island and to describe the island on which they found themselves. Many of them also drew maps of their island. The project is from 1995-96, but, somehow, is still up on the web. It’s fun, actually.
And, not a bad way to get some creative juices flowing for a story setting, either. I have often gotten ideas for things to write by drawing maps first. So do Orson Scott Card and Holly Lisle, both successful writers, so it’s not just a fluke or a gimmick. It’s also a bit of fun.
So, if you’re stuck for something to write about, why not draw a map? Or, heck, if you’re not too full of yourself, why not just do the same exercise that the fifth-graders did? You might just be surprised at the results!

What if Darth Vader were a chick?
Okay, so I saw “Revenge of the Sith” last week Sunday afternoon with a friend and it was good. Not great, but, considering we all knew how it would end anyway, it was pretty good. Special effects were first rate and seeing it on the IMAX screen was, well, like the “old days” of movie going. Well worth the $10.
Anyway, someone said something the other day that got me thinking… How different would all these movies have been if Anakin Skywalker had been, say “Anne” or “Annabelle” Skywalker? How much more tragic would that scene in Episode V have been when Darth told Luke the truth? “Luke, I’m your mother!” After all, mothers are supposed to be the source of all comfort and care and light. Imagine the horror of your own mother turning to the Dark Side and trying to twist you to a path of hate, fear and anger. What a powerful image that is!
Now, do any of you faithful readers, either of you, dare to re-write the Star Wars story with that one twist? I dare you.